Page 32

She arches an eyebrow. “I think it’s your turn, mountain man.”

I take my shirt off in one quick motion, watching her shimmering eyes take me in. The dancing firelight plays across her skin, turning her supple flesh golden, casting shadows in the hollows of her collarbone and waist. My blood heats, and I tamp down the urge to skip the foreplay and take her now, claim her as mine hard and rough, proving she belongs with me, no one else, and she’s not leaving my mountain.

“Now what?” she asks in a quiet, almost shy voice.

“Now I find out if you taste as sweet as I remember.” I move closer, running my fingers up her curvy hips to her waist, feeling her shiver under my touch. “I’ve missed you.” She reaches down for the button on my jeans and works it open.

“You have no idea how much I needed this tonight.”

I groan, sliding a hand along her smooth velvet skin to the back, and unhook her bra. She wriggles out of it and holds me, pressing herself against me, skin on skin. I capture her mouth again and deepen the kiss, pouring everything I feel into it, hoping she’ll realize how crazy I am about her. I can’t even think about Lila not being here tomorrow.

“Tonight is about reminding you who you are …” She makes a small breathy sound against my lips when I cup her breasts, and drag my lips up her shoulders to the hollow of her throat, smelling gingerbread and whiskey, feeling her skin heat.

“And how do you plan to do that?”

“By showing you what real perfection feels like. Do you doubt me, curvy?” I tease, lowering my head, kissing and licking down her breast.

“No doubts,” she gasps when I suck her nipple between my lips and tease it with my teeth. Her fingers thread through my hair, holding me against her as I move down, trailing a path with my lips against her stomach, feeling her muscles tense and release.

She’s watching me now with sexy, heavy-lidded eyes.

I hook my fingers into the waistband of my hot-as-fuck woman’s pants and slowly slide them down her legs along with her underwear, taking my time with every inch. Lila kicks them aside, and I swallow thickly, keeping it together, feeling my cock swell. She’s completely bare now in the firelight, and I take a moment just to soak up the image of her.

“You’re staring again. You’ve had the full tour by now.”

“A million wouldn’t be enough.” I shift, crawling between her legs, pressing kisses on the sensitive skin of her inner thighs, feeling her shudder. I growl under my breath like a fucking caveman, taking my time savoring her, working my tongue in slow, deliberate strokes, lapping up every drop she gives me, until her thighs start to clamp and shake against my cheeks.

Lila tastes like heaven, like home, like everything I didn’t even realize I’d been missing before we met.

She tightens her hold, tangling her fingers in my hair. “That’s …” she whispers, breaking into a moan as I zero in on that perfect spot.

I glance up. Her eyes are closed, her face is flushed, and her pretty lips are parted, just waiting for me. I sink my tongue into her, and grunt like a beast, completely losing myself in her pussy, fucking her with my tongue relentlessly, scooping her ass cheeks in my hands and yanking her up to my face so her little bud is flush against my tongue.

“Oh fuck, Gideon,” she squirms, starting to unravel. I keep the pressure steady and don’t let up. She cries out, arching her back off the cushions, moaning, Gideon, Gideon, in a way that fucking ruins me. Then she falls back onto the cushions, limp, trying to catch her breath.

“You’re killing me, baby,” I say, kissing my way back up her body, feeling her heart beat against mine when I reach her lips. “Still think you need to go back to Chicago?” I ask. Fuck, I’d beg if it would help. “If you get on that train, I swear I’m never showering again. I’m going to live the rest of my life with the scent of your pussy on my face.”

She lets out a breathless laugh. “Truth is, I really don’t want to leave tomorrow.” She tugs at my waistband.

“Then don’t.” I help her with my jeans and briefs and kick them completely off. When she wraps her soft hands around me and starts to stroke, I only last a minute before I’m sliding inside her. She’s so warm and tight, for a moment I don’t move and just enjoy the sensation, until reality hits.

“Fuck, Lila, this could be the last night I see you. I can’t fucking handle it.” I thrust in deep, wanting to imprint myself on her memory forever.

Her eyes fly open. Her smoldering indigo stare locks onto mine as I begin to move. “I can’t even think about saying goodbye to you,” she says in a soft, fragile voice. We move slowly at first without taking our eyes off each other, and build up quickly until we’re gasping and grunting, rocking hard, faster and faster—

“I won’t ever forget you. Never. Ever.”

“Don’t think about leaving,” I rasp against her ear. “Don’t think about Chicago or bills or apartments or anything except you and me.”

“Exactly,” she says, shifting, wrapping her legs around my waist, pulling me deeper. “Let’s forget the world.”

I increase my pace, driving into her with desperation and need. But it’s impossible to forget the thought of losing her. Thoughts of her packing, and waking up without her, push me to move deeper and faster. “Don’t fucking leave.” The words rip loose. Not pretty. Not rehearsed. Just true. “Don’t you know I’m in love with you?”

Lila’s eyes widen, and for a moment I think I’ve gone too far, said too much. But then she pulls me down for a soft, sweet kiss. “I love you too,” she whispers against my lips. “I think I knew it the moment you came back that first night in the storm.”

The confession makes me shudder and lose whatever control I have left. I grip her hips, lifting her slightly to change the angle, and give her everything. Her back arches, and a whimpering feminine sound escapes her throat that sends electricity shooting through my veins. “I’m close,” she cries out, tightening around me. “Don’t stop.”

I couldn’t if I wanted to. I’m lost in her, in us, in this moment that feels like it could stretch into eternity. When she comes undone around me, I follow her over the edge with her name on my lips, and we collapse together in a tangle.